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Roxie Theatre – Los Angeles, CA

The theater was built for Gus A. Metzger and Harry Srere, who also owned the Fairfax Theatre.

The Roxie Theatre in Los Angeles, California opened on November 25, 1931. It was the last theater in Los Angeles’s Broadway Theater District to open, and was built on the site of Quinn’s Superba Theatre, which was demolished to make way for the new theater. The Roxie originally had 1,637 seats, and was designed primarily for motion pictures, but had a small stage house so it could hold live performances.

The exterior of the theater has showed up in many movies over the years including 2011’s “The Muppets.”

It was designed by John M. Cooper — known for the NuWilshire Theatre in Santa Monica — in the Art Deco style, and has the distinction of being the only Art Deco theater in the theater district. Construction began in June 1931 at a cost of around $100,000 (or $1,663,794 when adjusted for inflation.)

View of the auditorium from the stage.

The Roxie’s history is marred by a number of tragic events, beginning with the death of the Harry Metzger, the general manager, on August 3, 1943. A customer discovered Metzger had died of a heart attack in the ticket booth when they went to purchase a ticket. On Christmas Eve 1954, a woman killed herself in her seat during a double feature showing of “Crossed Swords” and “Track of the Cat.” The Roxie was an all-night theater at the time, so her body wasn’t discovered until the lights went on at 3:30AM. The only clues to her identity were a Canadian dollar bill and a telephone number written on a cafe receipt in her pockets. She’s never been identified. Richard Studeny, an usher, tied up the manager and robbed the theater in June of 1958. He turned himself in to the police in Florida the following December.

In 1989, the Roxie closed after a stint showing Spanish-language films operated by Metropolitan Theatres. The ticket booth was removed and the lobby was converted into retail space in 1995. A number of reuse plans for the building have been been proposed over the years, often including the nearby Cameo and Arcade Theaters. One plan proposed turning the Roxie into a restaurant and restoring the Arcade as a live performance venue, but nothing has come to pass. The Roxie’s auditorium has been used as a filming location in a number of movies over the years including “Foxcatcher,” starring Steve Carell and Channing Tatum.

View of the auditorium from the orchestra level.
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Photo Workshops 2019

Orpheum Theatre – New Bedford, MA

Here are the first three locations for the 2019 photo workshop season:

First up is a return to the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA on February 23, 2019. The Orpheum was the first theater profiled on After the Final Curtain, and the past workshops have been great. Attendees will be able to photograph the auditorium, ballroom and shooting range. You can find out more information and sign up here.

Everett Square Theatre – Boston, MA.

Next is the Everett Square Theatre in Boston, MA on March 30, 2019. The Everett is a smaller theater, and a great place for someone who is just starting to photograph abandoned spaces. Due to the theaters size attendance is limited to 7 people per session. For more information and to sign up visit: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/everett-square-theatre-workshop

Auditorium, Colonial Theatre Augusta, Maine

Finally, the Colonial Theatre in Augusta, Maine on April 27, 2019. It opened in 1913, and closed in the 1960s. There’s a group looking to restore the theater, and they’ve done quite a bit of work (including fixing a giant hole in the auditorium floor.) This will be the first workshop at the Colonial, and I’m excited for all of you to see it in person. For more information visit: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/colonial-theatre

I’m still waiting on confirmation for three more new workshop locations for early 2019. I don’t want to say much about them until I get the go ahead, but two of them are active theaters. Hopefully, I’ll be able to announce them very soon.

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American Shakespeare Theater – Stratford, CT

This theater is a bit different from every other one I’ve posted on AFtC as it was never a movie theater. However,  I believe that it is still historically significant due to the people who performed in it. I planned on posting a completely different theater today, but since this one was destroyed last weekend I felt it needed to be bumped up.
View of the auditorium from the balcony.

The American Shakespeare Theatre opened on July 12, 1955 in Stratford, CT. Construction of the building began in 1954, and cost $1 million or $9.3 million when adjusted for inflation. It was commissioned by the American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy (ASFTA), which was formed by Lawrence Langner, a co-founder of The Theatre Guild.  Langner formed the ASFTA to create American interpretations of William Shakespeare’s plays in Connecticut.

On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough. (Ariel, Act 5 Scene 1)

“Julius Caesar” was the opening production and the theater company included Raymond Massey, Christopher Plummer, Roddy McDowall, Jack Palance, and Jerry Stiller. Over the years many famous actors were involved in productions at the theater including: Katharine Hepburn, Fred Gwynne, Margaret Hamilton, James Earl Jones, Lillian Gish, Christopher Walken and Ed Asner. In 1966, T.S. Eliot’s “Murder in the Cathedral,” becomes the first non-Shakespeare play performed at the theater.

The theater’s ticket booth inside the lobby.

The final full season was in 1982, with performances of “King Henry IV,” “Twelfth Night,” and “Hamlet.”  In 1983, the theater was bought by the state of Connecticut for $1 million due to the threat of foreclosure. The American Shakespeare Theatre Corp. was given a 20 year, $1 a year lease but financial issues continued and the summer productions were canceled in 1986.

In 1989 the theater was closed. The final production was one-person show of the Tempest. Connecticut turned the property over to the town of Stratford in 2005 after a few failed attempts to develop the property. On January 13, 2019, a fire destroyed the theater. The cause is currently unknown.

  • View of the auditorium from the main level.
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2019

Undisclosed Theatre – USA.

2019 is going to be a big year for After the Final Curtain. First, in December 2019 it will be 10 years since I first photographed the Loew’s Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, NY and kicked off the project that turned into After the Final Curtain. Second, I’ve been hard at work on the follow up to 2016’s After the Final Curtain: The Fall of the American Movie Theater, which should be out later this year. I’m going to set up a book tour around the release of the book, so if there are any places you’d like me to stop at be sure to let me know!

Third, I’ll be announcing the first photography workshops of 2019 in the next few days. I’m just waiting on confirmation from two of the new locations.

Thanks for following my work and I hope you all are having a happy 2019.

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Warner Huntington Park Theatre

 

View from the side of the balcony.

The Warner Theatre in Huntington Park, California opened on November 19, 1930. Warner Bros hired Seattle based architect B. Marcus Priteca and interior designer Anthony Hiensbergen to collaborate on three theaters in the Los Angeles area. The result of the collaboration were three theaters designed in the Art Deco style; the Warner Beverly Hills, the Warner Grand in San Pedro, and the Warner Huntington Park.

The ceiling of the auditorium.

The 1,468 seat Warner opened with a showing of “The Life of the Party” starring Winnie Lightner and Charles Butterworth. “The Life of the Party” was a musical comedy released on Vitaphone, which was an early form of talking motion pictures, and filmed entirely in Technicolor. Joe E. Brown, an actor and comedian, served as the master of ceremonies for the opening celebration.

The main level of the auditorium.

In 1948 Warner Bros was forced to split into two separate companies, Warner Bros Studios and the Stanley Warner Corporation, due to the results of the Supreme Court antitrust case, United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. Stanley Warner Corp (SWC) was created to operate all of Warner Bros theaters as the case ruled that movie studios could not own the theaters where their movies were shown. The Warner Huntington was renamed the Stanley Warner Huntington Park, but the signage on the building’s exterior never changed. SWC operated the theater until 1968, when it was sold to Pacific Theatres. Pacific twinned the Warner in the 1980s, separating the balcony and orchestra levels, and renamed it to Pacific’s Warner 2. The Warner closed in the early 1990’s after a stint as a spanish language theater.

The snack bar was not original to the theater.

Huntington Park declared the Warner a historic landmark in 2007. However, that status only protects the building’s facade from alteration. The theater sat dormant until Pacific sold it in June 2013 for $1,600,000 to Pacific Blvd. Pacific Blvd applied for a special re-use permit, which would allow them to convert the interior into retail space. Despite opposition from preservationists and residents, Huntington Park’s historic preservation commission unanimously approved the permit. The alteration work began soon after with the removal of the seats, stage, snack bar, and the wall separating the lobby from the auditorium. Blink Fitness, a primarily East Coast based Gym, opened one of their first West Coast locations in the Warner in early 2018.

The main floor was leveled and most of the balcony removed to help entice retail clients

View from the balcony before the division was removed.

The theater’s projection room.

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Fall Photo Workshops 2018

 

Orpheum_Theatre_8_6_18_014
Auditorium, Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA

I’ve been working on scheduling some new locations for this fall’s series of Photography Workshops, and think I’ve gotten some great ones. First up, the Orpheum Theatre in New Bedford, MA on September 22. The Orpheum was the first theater profiled on After the Final Curtain, and I’m really excited about the workshop. Attendees will be able to photograph the auditorium, ballroom and shooting range.

http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/orpheum-theatre-workshop

 

Olympia_Theatre_7-11-18_046
The Art Theatre in Worcester, MA.

Next is the Art Theatre (formerly the Olympia and a bunch of other names) in Worcester, MA is the next photo workshop on October 6, 2018. It’s a smaller one, so sessions are limited to 6 people.

http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/arttheatreworkshop

(And don’t worry, all of that insulation has been removed.)

Paramount_Theatre_04_28_18_017
View from the fake box seats at the Paramount Theatre in Springfield, MA.

Last up is a return to the Paramount Theatre in Springfield, MA on October 27, 2018. I’m co-hosting this one again with Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America. Work will have started on the roof by the time this workshop takes place, so hopefully that will stop the deterioration of this fantastic building.

Sign up and more information: http://www.mlambrosphotography.com/workshops/paramount-theatre-workshop

That’s it for now! I’m planning on doing another one at the Everett Square Theatre this fall, but I’m just waiting to confirm a date. There may be one more surprise one as well.

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Robins Theatre Video

The Robins Theatre in Warren, Ohio is currently being restored and is scheduled to reopen in 2020. I’ve been documenting the progress and put together a short video tour. Look for an in depth post on the Robins soon!

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Upcoming Events

 

Auditorium, Bennett School – Millbrook, NY 2004.

I’m happy to announce that I’ll be at the 10th annual Millbrook Literary Festival in Millbrook, New York on May 19th, 2018. I’ll be signing copies of my books in the main tent from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM. I grew up a few towns over from Millbrook, and might have snuck into the abandoned Bennett School a time or two.

Variety Theatre Cleveland, Ohio.

The next photography workshop is at one of my favorite theaters – the Variety Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio. I’m co-hosting it with Matthew Christopher of Abandoned America on June 16th. For more info visit: http://www.dismantlingthedream.com/product-page/variety-theatre-photography-workshop

View of the side of the balcony of the Colonial Theatre in Augusta, Maine.

Finally, I’ll be at the 14th annual Books in Boothbay in Boothbay, Maine on July 14. I’ll be signing copies of my books from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM.